Things I Learned in High School

As my graduation date draws closer I can’t help but to think about how drastically my life is about to change.

It’s scary.

From this point on I’ll be responsible for the routes I take that will either make or break the rest of my life. This is something no one else I know seems to talk about. Everyone else is excited to leave high school and start to live their own lives, yet here I am wishing I could rewind time and enjoy the times I have failed to enjoy before.

Unfortunately, I cannot rewind time, but I can reflect upon my past experiences and take what I have learned to help me at the start of my new life. I’ve learned many things while in high school. Things I have learned and experienced was definitely a wake up call for what’s about to happen in my life, and most of what I learned happened outside of the classrooms.

Time is crucial. Growing up, I remember telling myself that I couldn’t wait to get older. Now I’m wishing I could be a kid all over again. I realize how fast time goes by. Days slip between the cracks of my fingers like sand and I can’t hit pause. Time stops for no one. I also remember thinking as a child that time went by so slow. Four years seemed like an eternity to me, now I know that’s not long at all. My senior year consist of nothing but deadlines. A deadline for college applications and personal essays, assignments and test , and important events I have to sign up for to be able to attend. No matter how much time I think I have the date always comes fast and unexpected. I’m slowly learning to plan, spend, and enjoy time efficiently because I know time wasted is time I can’t get back.

People come and go. I’ve always had a special kind of love for the people in my life. Making friends was and still is a little hard for me, but when they appeared in my life I made sure to treat them with all the love and compassion I could give. I remember thinking that the people I used to have in my life would last forever. We would all grow up together and live the happiest lives, but in high school those thoughts were struck down fast. Everyone went their own separate ways. People left my life because they found other people to hang with, left with no contact, or just simply treated me how a friend isn’t supposed to be treated. It didn’t matter the reason. I was always hurt as an end result. So I’ve learned to dial it down on who I give my all to and not to sweat it if someone does decide to leave. Attachment to the wrong people is bound to make anyone’s happiness dwindle, and I refuse to let the happiness in my future die down over someone who doesn’t benefit my life in anyway.

My parents were right, money actually doesn’t grow on trees. It wasn’t that much of a shocker until I started buying the things I needed on my own. It turns out life is a lot more expensive than I thought it would be. I didn’t realize this until I took a personal principles class my junior year. We were taught about bills, taxes, insurance, and other personal things everyone in society needed to do in order to live life. I definitely had a rude awakening that day. Now I completely understand that when my parents said they didn’t have any money to buy something I wanted, they meant they only had the money to get something we needed. Money management skills never seemed important until now.

Self care and self appreciation is important. It was during these four years in my life where I realized how easy it was for someone’s words and actions to bring down my confidence. Without confidence doing everyday activities was tough for me. It prevented me from performing to the best of my ability. Down the road I have come to love myself the best I could. During this time my mom was diagnosed with acute kidney failure. It’s unbelievable that someone can be fine one day and sick the next. I became aware of how crucial it was to take care of the one and only body that I have.

Of course there are many other things I have learned over these past four years, but no matter how many life lessons I learned they all came to one final conclusion.

Life won’t be as easy as I thought it would be.